Should the White House have a 'made in the USA' hi-fi?

The Magico Q7 speakers

(Credit: Magico)

America may not design world-class cars anymore. We don't build TVs, phones, tablets, cameras, or all that much consumer technology, but we're still at the top of the heap in high-end audio! That's why the White House should have an American engineered and built hi-fi system for use by the president and his invited guests.

I'll volunteer my services to coordinate and help assemble such a system (presumably donated by the manufacturers). On a leap of faith, I'm assuming the president still plays LPs, so I'd recommend the Spiral Groove turntable and tonearm from Berkeley, Calif., set up with a Soundsmith Hyperion phono cartridge, handcrafted by Peter Ledermann in Peekskill, N.Y.

Audio Research electronics will power the system, with a Reference 5 SE preamplifier, Reference Phono 2 SE, and Reference 250 power amplifiers. Audio Research has been making some of the world's greatest gear since 1970 in Minnesota.

I'm not sure the majestic Magico Technology Q7 speakers would fit in th... [Read more]